>To my knowledge, all previous missions >involving ion propulsion have been for >the purpose of testing ion drives, >while this one is expected to perform >scientific exploration and happens to >use an ion drive.
Not even that; The Russians have been using them for decades for various spacecraft, and at least some current US comsats use them as well. I am working on another one right now, a comsat that uses it for orbit raising and on-orbit stationkeeping/repositioning.
I read TFA and it's mostly a load. I don't see why JPL has to jump on the same "we did it first" (except for all the other people who did it before us) bandwagon. I expect that sort of nonsense from ESA but JPL shouldn't have to pump themselves up, since they actually did do a lot of legitimate "firsts".
What they are concerned about, of course, is not Google Maps and static data like that. They are very concerned about these foreign concerns sharing near-real-time tactical information, i.e. there's a brigade camped out at Lat xx, Long xx. and they have 4 tanks. This would permit active use in targeting and attack planning our troops.
The US are perfectly justified in using any means possible to deny the enemy this information. Of course, our allies will refuse to supply it, if they do not they are not our allies but are aiding the enemy. If they can't talk them into not sharing it, they will try to buy it, but if they can't or the operators refuse, they are perfectly legitimate targets and can and should be taken out. And it's certainly feasible to do so.
This isn't some sort of Goddamn game, we are talking about our troops lives here.
No, this has been going on since the invention of magazine advertising. Commercial magazines (and TV shows and radio shows and every other kind of for-profit venture) have always and will always have this "feature". I cannot be otherwise, not if you want to stay in business.
Brett
Re:This is (now) a famous number-theory integer!
on
Censoring a Number
·
· Score: 1
Missed the point completely, did you?
Brett
Re:This is (now) a famous number-theory integer!
on
Censoring a Number
·
· Score: 1
Quite an amazing series of completely random coincidences. It's almost as if it has been set up that way on purpose, but I know that can't be true.
>The simple fact is that inkjet printing >is just a bad idea, no matter what the >costs are. It can't compete in any way >with laser printing technology, except >by using marketing to take advantage of >peoples' stupidity and shortsightedness.
What a complete load. Ink-jet probably can't ever match the cost-per-page of laser. But even a $75 ink-jet will run rings around any conventional laser printer for photographs.
What kind of weenie it going to try to edit PPT/Excel/Word documents on a Goddamn cell phone? And this is a killer shortcoming? It barely freaking works on a regular computer. Not running MS Office is a feature, not a bug.
>whether we like it or not, windows is currently the >standard and if someone wants to compete (which lets that >whole "free market" thing work), they need to be compatible >with windows and with microsoft's formats (.doc, etc.)
Now, let me get this straight - simply taking a companies' intellectual property with next-to-no compensation is being argued on "free market" grounds? Mind-boggling.
Without addressing the fundamental flaws with the idea of terraforming in any form, no.
The conditions that caused the loss of the original atmosphere are still present, and even presuming you could start melting the water somehow, and then put some sort of hardy organisms on there to make an Earth-like atmosphere, it would only last until you ran out of water, then you would be back in the same boat, except now all the water would be gone.
Yes, I agree. I would certainly like to know the perfectly rational reason for driving 900 miles in diapers, and then tracking down and pepper-spraying someone you have never met, in an airport parking lot.
Sure enough, that's exactly what it says. What in the hell use is a computer with just an OS running and nothing else? This is what that call "capable"? Ay Carumba!
I agree with your comment, but, I think this is a symptom of the tendency to treat College like a trade school. Computer science was a trendy major for a while when it looked like everyone might just be the next internet millionaire - not necessarily that a lot of people were really interested in computer science beyond having a career. Heck most people have no idea what computer science is.
And the instant there's a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility, you will all jump up and down pointing the finger at the "Adminstration" for not taking simple precautions to prevent attacks.
We are fighting a war. It started maybe 25 years ago, whether we recognized it or not or whether you want to admit it or not. During wartime it's very common to have some restrictions on the flow of information. During WWII, ordinary citizens had their "rights" infringed to the point that they weren't allowed to look out the windows of airplanes while flying cross-country. And it's a lot more likely that Islamicists will attempt to blow up a critical facility or other larger target than the Japanese or Germans - since they have already done it 3 times. It only makes sense to ensure that it's as difficult as possible. Yes, you can call up the French and get SPOT Image, or someone else. to give you a picture of the same place, with some time and money. All that means is that the people supplying the image don't give a rat's ass about your safety or the safety of the country.
If you don't want this, then, fine, you probably shouldn't be listened to, any more than an adult listens to the whining of a 3-year old having a temper tantrum. Your hated "administration" is doing what it can (short of shooting down "neutral" satellites) to address an obvious security issue.
By the way, when you are modding this down to oblivion, consider that you are doing nothing different in concept than what you are complaining about.
Bingo, exactly correct. This is not a Vista problem, it's a problem that various suckers used ActiveX and other non-standard features in the first place. And me without mod points, too.
>I could be wrong, but I think the target was talk radio >and/or conservative sites that are advertiser funded like >LittleGreenFootballs, but not MoveOn.org, which is funded >by contributors (George Soros)
Exactly. Liberal blogs and liberal talk radio (such as it is) have been, with a few exception, unsuccessful while Conservative blogs and radio have done spectacularly well. Another move along these lines is to revive the "Fairness Doctrine" requiring broadcasters to present "all sides" of any political opinion, which is aimed directly at muzzling Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc. "Fair" as typified by borderline "Workers Daily" propaganda and socialist claptrap like the NBC Nightly News and NPR.
Business as usual for liberals, who welcome and respect all opinions, as long as they agree with the weeks' talking points. Otherwise it's 'hate speech', the babblings of ignorant rednecks, or "fundamentalist dogma" and must be supressed.
>Huh. I thought it was only the Republicans who were > after our 1st Amendment rights. But here are the > Democrats assaulting our freedoms again by trying > to control who says what.
Like virtually all liberal talking points, that is ridiculous. But I think you can count on a veto, assuming it passes in the next 2 years.
There's NO WAY that anything Lucas or anyone else did would ever satisfy the "demanding fans" - the die-hards saw the originals when they were 8-12 years old, a long time ago. Their *memories* of seeing it the first time are far better than the movies actually were, so when 25 years later movies of the same general quality come out, of course they are disappointed. I was old enough to see them all with some degree of objectivity, and the originals weren't all that better than the prequels. The main thing that struck me about the originals were the effects, which were so much better than anything you had ever seen (aside from maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey). That Imperial Star destroyer coming in over the camera in the opening shot literally drew gasps from the audience. Very impressive compared to what came before, like Star Trek/Lost In Space, etc. That sort of "dazzle factor" is never going to be seen again from effects, and although the prequels effects were MUCH better than the originals, they didn't stand out. Take that away and all you have are some pretty predictable stories that anyone who watched B-movie Westerns would recognize.
There's no way that the grown-up fans are ever going to be satisfied the way they were when they were 11 years old.
Of course it's anybody's opinion whether giving kids laptops is "moving their education system forward". I think it's moving the system backwards, drastically, to introduce items like computers. If I had kids I wouldn't ALLOW them to work computers until they had a good grounding in more important topics. Excsssive reliance on computer technology is actually one of my pet peeves in education and a lot of other areas. And I am in a technology-related industry. Heck, if/when I become the boss of my engineering group, I have threatened to make every Friday "slide rule and graph paper" day and I am only about half-kidding.
> - Noton Utilities (if only it had the features of ver 3)
Why in holy freaking hades would you need Norton Utilities on a Mac? You need Norton Utilities on a Windows machine ONLY BECAUSE THE OS IS JUNK. Get an OS that's not broken and you don't need a "fixit" program.
Slashdot Mirror
>To my knowledge, all previous missions
>involving ion propulsion have been for
>the purpose of testing ion drives,
>while this one is expected to perform
>scientific exploration and happens to
>use an ion drive.
Not even that; The Russians have been using them for decades for various spacecraft, and at least some current US comsats use them as well. I am working on another one right now, a comsat that uses it for orbit raising and on-orbit stationkeeping/repositioning.
I read TFA and it's mostly a load. I don't see why JPL has to jump on the same "we did it first" (except for all the other people who did it before us) bandwagon. I expect that sort of nonsense from ESA but JPL shouldn't have to pump themselves up, since they actually did do a lot of legitimate "firsts".
Brett
Brett
What they are concerned about, of course, is not Google Maps and static data like that. They are very concerned about these foreign concerns sharing near-real-time tactical information, i.e. there's a brigade camped out at Lat xx, Long xx. and they have 4 tanks. This would permit active use in targeting and attack planning our troops.
The US are perfectly justified in using any means possible to deny the enemy this information. Of course, our allies will refuse to supply it, if they do not they are not our allies but are aiding the enemy. If they can't talk them into not sharing it, they will try to buy it, but if they can't or the operators refuse, they are perfectly legitimate targets and can and should be taken out. And it's certainly feasible to do so.
This isn't some sort of Goddamn game, we are talking about our troops lives here.
Brett
It depends on whether you think breaking the law is worth keeping your job.
Brett
No, this has been going on since the invention of magazine advertising. Commercial magazines (and TV shows and radio shows and every other kind of for-profit venture) have always and will always have this "feature". I cannot be otherwise, not if you want to stay in business.
Brett
Missed the point completely, did you?
Brett
Quite an amazing series of completely random coincidences. It's almost as if it has been set up that way on purpose, but I know that can't be true.
Brett
>The simple fact is that inkjet printing
>is just a bad idea, no matter what the
>costs are. It can't compete in any way
>with laser printing technology, except
>by using marketing to take advantage of
>peoples' stupidity and shortsightedness.
What a complete load. Ink-jet probably can't ever match the cost-per-page of laser. But even a $75 ink-jet will run rings around any conventional laser printer for photographs.
Brett
What kind of weenie it going to try to edit PPT/Excel/Word documents on a Goddamn cell phone? And this is a killer shortcoming? It barely freaking works on a regular computer. Not running MS Office is a feature, not a bug.
Brett
>whether we like it or not, windows is currently the
>standard and if someone wants to compete (which lets that
>whole "free market" thing work), they need to be compatible
>with windows and with microsoft's formats (.doc, etc.)
Now, let me get this straight - simply taking a companies' intellectual property with next-to-no compensation is being argued on "free market" grounds? Mind-boggling.
Brett
I hate April Fool's day. Most of these weren't even momentarily funny.
I hate to think this is what passes for wit among the "I'm scared of girls and I live in my Mom's basement crowd", but I fear that it does.
Brett
Without addressing the fundamental flaws with the idea of terraforming in any form, no.
The conditions that caused the loss of the original atmosphere are still present, and even presuming you could start melting the water somehow, and then put some sort of hardy organisms on there to make an Earth-like atmosphere, it would only last until you ran out of water, then you would be back in the same boat, except now all the water would be gone.
Brett
You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. [/Syzlak]
Brett
Yes, I agree. I would certainly like to know the perfectly rational reason for driving 900 miles in diapers, and then tracking down and pepper-spraying someone you have never met, in an airport parking lot.
Brett
Sure enough, that's exactly what it says. What in the hell use is a computer with just an OS running and nothing else? This is what that call "capable"? Ay Carumba!
Brett
I agree with your comment, but, I think this is a symptom of the tendency to treat College like a trade school. Computer science was a trendy major for a while when it looked like everyone might just be the next internet millionaire - not necessarily that a lot of people were really interested in computer science beyond having a career. Heck most people have no idea what computer science is.
Brett
If PC's stop sucking, I'll stop saying they suck.
Brett
And the instant there's a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility, you will all jump up and down pointing the finger at the "Adminstration" for not taking simple precautions to prevent attacks.
We are fighting a war. It started maybe 25 years ago, whether we recognized it or not or whether you want to admit it or not. During wartime it's very common to have some restrictions on the flow of information. During WWII, ordinary citizens had their "rights" infringed to the point that they weren't allowed to look out the windows of airplanes while flying cross-country. And it's a lot more likely that Islamicists will attempt to blow up a critical facility or other larger target than the Japanese or Germans - since they have already done it 3 times. It only makes sense to ensure that it's as difficult as possible. Yes, you can call up the French and get SPOT Image, or someone else. to give you a picture of the same place, with some time and money. All that means is that the people supplying the image don't give a rat's ass about your safety or the safety of the country.
If you don't want this, then, fine, you probably shouldn't be listened to, any more than an adult listens to the whining of a 3-year old having a temper tantrum. Your hated "administration" is doing what it can (short of shooting down "neutral" satellites) to address an obvious security issue.
By the way, when you are modding this down to oblivion, consider that you are doing nothing different in concept than what you are complaining about.
Brett
Bingo, exactly correct. This is not a Vista problem, it's a problem that various suckers used ActiveX and other non-standard features in the first place. And me without mod points, too.
Brett
>Too bad, the world would be a better place without so many neo-con arse holes around.
So your liberal philosophy is "believe what I do or die?" That rumbling sound is FDR and JFK rolling in their respective graves.
Maybe we should have to wear some sort of identifying insignia on our clothes.
Brett
>I could be wrong, but I think the target was talk radio
>and/or conservative sites that are advertiser funded like
>LittleGreenFootballs, but not MoveOn.org, which is funded
>by contributors (George Soros)
Exactly. Liberal blogs and liberal talk radio (such as it is) have been, with a few exception, unsuccessful while Conservative blogs and radio have done spectacularly well. Another move along these lines is to revive the "Fairness Doctrine" requiring broadcasters to present "all sides" of any political opinion, which is aimed directly at muzzling Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc. "Fair" as typified by borderline "Workers Daily" propaganda and socialist claptrap like the NBC Nightly News and NPR.
Business as usual for liberals, who welcome and respect all opinions, as long as they agree with the weeks' talking points. Otherwise it's 'hate speech', the babblings of ignorant rednecks, or "fundamentalist dogma" and must be supressed.
Brett
>Huh. I thought it was only the Republicans who were
> after our 1st Amendment rights. But here are the
> Democrats assaulting our freedoms again by trying
> to control who says what.
Like virtually all liberal talking points, that is ridiculous. But I think you can count on a veto, assuming it passes in the next 2 years.
Brett
>Probably gets more tail than the average Slashdotter...
That's not setting the bar very high. You could do better just riding on the subway - if you ever had the gut's to leave mom's basement.
Brett
There's NO WAY that anything Lucas or anyone else did would ever satisfy the "demanding fans" - the die-hards saw the originals when they were 8-12 years old, a long time ago. Their *memories* of seeing it the first time are far better than the movies actually were, so when 25 years later movies of the same general quality come out, of course they are disappointed. I was old enough to see them all with some degree of objectivity, and the originals weren't all that better than the prequels. The main thing that struck me about the originals were the effects, which were so much better than anything you had ever seen (aside from maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey). That Imperial Star destroyer coming in over the camera in the opening shot literally drew gasps from the audience. Very impressive compared to what came before, like Star Trek/Lost In Space, etc. That sort of "dazzle factor" is never going to be seen again from effects, and although the prequels effects were MUCH better than the originals, they didn't stand out. Take that away and all you have are some pretty predictable stories that anyone who watched B-movie Westerns would recognize.
There's no way that the grown-up fans are ever going to be satisfied the way they were when they were 11 years old.
Brett
Of course it's anybody's opinion whether giving kids laptops is "moving their education system forward". I think it's moving the system backwards, drastically, to introduce items like computers. If I had kids I wouldn't ALLOW them to work computers until they had a good grounding in more important topics. Excsssive reliance on computer technology is actually one of my pet peeves in education and a lot of other areas. And I am in a technology-related industry. Heck, if/when I become the boss of my engineering group, I have threatened to make every Friday "slide rule and graph paper" day and I am only about half-kidding.
Brett
> - Noton Utilities (if only it had the features of ver 3)
Why in holy freaking hades would you need Norton Utilities on a Mac? You need Norton Utilities on a Windows machine ONLY BECAUSE THE OS IS JUNK. Get an OS that's not broken and you don't need a "fixit" program.
Brett